
Going Full-Circle RFK Jr. &
Rachel Carson
Vs. Monsanto
Under Construction

The early environmental activist author Rachel Carson

...and one of her most notable fans RFK jr.
If I had to guess I’d say that RFK Jr. and team’s court victory against the infamous mega-corporation Monsanto has to be one of his proudest accomplishments. While he’s certainly achieved a seemingly superhuman number of triumphs in various fields the Monsanto win links back to his earliest passion for protecting the environment!
One of Bobby’s greatest heroes is the early environmentalist author Rachel Carson - the first individual to really challenge Monsanto's production of toxic products. She's a hero RFK Jr even had the honor of meeting back when he was just eight years old - and nearly 60 years later he would be instrumental in bringing the corporation to its knees.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s environmental advocacy has long been deeply influenced by Rachel Carson's pioneering work, particularly her 1962 book Silent Spring, which exposed the dangers of pesticides like DDT and catalyzed the modern environmental movement.
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Early Introduction to Environmentalism
At the age of eight, Kennedy expressed interest in pollution and environmental issues. His uncle, President John F. Kennedy, invited him to the Oval Office to discuss these concerns. During this meeting, young Kennedy presented the President with a salamander, sparking a conversation about environmental health. President Kennedy encouraged his nephew's interests by directing him to engage with environmental leaders, including then-Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall and conservationist Rachel Carson. Kennedy conducted interviews with both, marking his early immersion into environmental advocacy.



Bobby & President Kennedy
& the ill-fated salamander
Secretary of the Interior during the Camelot days - Stewart Udall
Carson had recently become well-known for her environmental writings
‘They (JFK and Jackie) invited Rachel Carson to dinner at my house at Hickory Hill, and it was one of the great thrills of my life to meet her.
And my uncle (JFK) went to bat for her. He went to war with his own Department of Agriculture (USDA), because just as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) today is captive of the vaccine and pharma industries, the USDA is and has been for fifty years a captive of agribusiness and the chemical industry.'
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- RFK Jr. reminiscing about his early meeting with Carson

Rachel Carson's Influence on the First Kennedy Administration
Rachel Carson's Silent Spring had a profound impact on environmental policy during the Kennedy era. The book raised public awareness about the harmful effects of pesticides, leading President Kennedy to establish a committee to investigate these issues. This initiative laid the groundwork for future environmental regulations and demonstrated the administration's commitment to addressing ecological concerns.


Rachel Carson's seminal work, Silent Spring (1962), unveiled the environmental and health hazards of indiscriminate pesticide use, particularly DDT. This publication ignited a fierce backlash from the chemical industry, notably Monsanto, which sought to discredit Carson's findings and protect its interests.
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Monsanto's Counteractions
In response to Silent Spring, Monsanto published a satirical piece titled "The Desolate Year" in October 1962. This article depicted a dystopian scenario where the absence of chemical pest control led to widespread famine and disease, aiming to undermine Carson's warnings by suggesting that pesticides were indispensable for modern agriculture and public health.
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Additionally, Monsanto and other chemical companies launched public relations campaigns to challenge Carson's credibility and scientific integrity. They emphasized the benefits of pesticides in boosting agricultural productivity and controlling vector-borne diseases, while downplaying or denying the associated environmental and health risks.

A key finding that her book Silent Spring emphasized was that DDT poisoning was causing the weakening of bird eggshells - leading to declines in overall avian populations.

Although she wrote Silent Spring later in her life, Carson had been studying nature for decades - particularly in her field of marine biology
‘My uncle asked his chief scientist, Jerome Wiesner, to assemble a group of the best in the country, toxicologists, environmentalists, to read Silent Spring. Rachel Carson had been meticulously careful when she wrote it. She had three references for every fact in the book, because she knew she was going to be attacked.
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'So when this panel of scientists went through the book, fact by fact, sentence by sentence, assertion by assertion, they came back with a report that vindicated Rachel Carson in the last months of her life. She died in April 1964, six months after my uncle Jack.'
- Bobby – The Real RFK Jr., p. 23

Jerome Weisner, Chair of the President's (JFK's) Science Advisory Committee (PSAC)

Kennedy's Legal Battles Against Monsanto
Following in Carson's footsteps, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been a prominent figure in environmental law, particularly in cases against corporations like Monsanto. In 2018, he was part of the legal team representing Dewayne "Lee" Johnson in a landmark case against Monsanto. Johnson, a school groundskeeper, alleged that exposure to Monsanto's herbicide, Roundup, caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The jury found in favor of Johnson, awarding him $289 million in damages. Kennedy highlighted the significance of this verdict, stating:
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"This jury found Monsanto acted with malice and oppression because they knew what they were doing was wrong and doing it with reckless disregard for human life."
This case set a precedent for numerous subsequent lawsuits against Monsanto, holding the company accountable for the health risks associated with its products.
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Continuing and Building Upon Rachel Carson's Legacy
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s environmental activism reflects the enduring influence of Rachel Carson's work. By challenging corporate malfeasance and advocating for environmental justice, Kennedy continues the mission Carson championed, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding public health and the environment from harmful industrial practices.
‘They (JFK and Jackie) invited Rachel Carson to dinner at my house at Hickory Hill, and it was one of the great thrills of my life to meet her. And my uncle (JFK) went to bat for her. He went to war with his own Department of Agriculture (USDA), because just as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) today is captive of the vaccine and pharma industries, the USDA is and has been for fifty years a captive of agribusiness and the chemical industry.
‘ Less than two months later, he (JFK) was assassinated. In 1972, thanks to the actions of Bobby’s uncle a decade earlier, America banned the use of DDT. And Bobby would not soon forget his first impressions of Monsanto.’
- Dick Russell, The Real RFK Jr., p. 24

Morgan & Morgan & vs. Monsanto
In 2016, Kennedy became counsel to the Morgan & Morgan law firm.[88] The partnership arose from the two firms' successful collaboration on the case against SoCalGas Company following the Aliso Canyon gas leak in California.[89] In 2017, Kennedy and his partners sued Monsanto in federal court in San Francisco, on behalf of plaintiffs seeking to recover damages for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cases that, the plaintiffs allege, were a result of exposure to Monsanto's glyphosate-based herbicide, Roundup. Kennedy and his team also filed a class action lawsuit against Monsanto for failing to warn consumers about the dangers allegedly posed by exposure to Roundup.[90]



